A Simple Training Exercise
by Spartan-Guy 88
Summary: After several months of feeling like he's left in the dark; Po finally gets an unusual training exercise from his favorite member of the Five. ONE SHOT.


**A Simple Training Exercise**

_By: Spartan-Guy 88_

**A/N: Several things I have to say before you get to read anything. First: I am SO super sorry that I didn't post anything in over a year. I had a severe lack of inspiration and I couldn't come up with any good ideas for stories until now. Secondly, this fic is dedicated to Kippis05, for being one of the biggest Pogress fans out there, that and this is my birthday gift to him. Granted, this isn't a romance one shot, but nonetheless- a story involving our favorite panda and tiger duo. Finally, try to guess what comic strip inspired this story…**

**DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING BUT THE STORY**

Po should have been excited. No, scratch that; he should have been _absolutely ecstatic _at what he was going to get in just a few minutes. Finally, a good six months after the defeat of Tai Lung, he was going to get a training session from his favorite member of the Furious Five: Master Tigress.

But he wasn't. Yes, Tigress was far more cordial, respectful, and civil with the Dragon Warrior than she was with him when he first arrived at the Jade Palace; yet the panda couldn't help but feel slight unease whenever she looked over at him, or whenever he or she entered a room with the other in there already. It wasn't until Crane told him in private what it was that seemed to warrant the feline's intimidation.

It was how the feline master had craved for Grand Master Shifu's praise and love as a father; since she was adopted by said Grand Master from the Bao Gu orphanage when she was a child. After Tai Lung's rampage for not being granted the Dragon Scroll, Shifu most likely had not allowed himself to get emotionally attached to his second adopted child. Whether he wanted to protect Tigress (or the rest of the Five for that matter) from becoming the monster Tai Lung became, or if the aged red panda couldn't bear to go through the pain of losing his child to false dreams again; neither Po or Crane knew for sure.

Whatever the reasons, all this strongly suggested that Tigress must think that Po has stolen the fatherly bond she has craved for her entire life when he was named the Dragon Warrior by the late Grand Master Oogway.

Po had vehemently explained to the avian master that he would _never_, under any circumstances, try to steal anyone's attention, praise, or love. He then added that while he does share a strong bond between him and Shifu, it could never replace the one he had with his own father, Mr. Ping; for even though he was obviously not the panda's real father, the goose noodle chef still had the heart to raise him as though he were his own.

Crane believed the bear's side of the story, as Po knew his closest friend would; and also advised him to try not to let it get to him too much.

But today, on a day with the Jade Palace and the Valley coated in a clean sheet of snow from the night, when Tigress informed Po that she would like him to meet her on the training hall court yard, alone, for what she said would be a "lesson on accuracy," the Dragon Warrior had the creeping feeling that the inevitable confrontation was about to take place.

As he made his way to the doors leading to the training hall, wrapped in a white robe similar to the one he wore in his earlier dreams of him being a great warrior, dozens of possible outcomes were racing through his mind. What was going to transpire the second he walked up to her? Would she punch him in the face? Go on a huge, furious as hell rant about how Shifu was _her _father? Did she learn Tai Lung's signature nerve attack and wanted to test it out on him first? Was she going to make out with him right there on the-

_STOP IT DAMN IT! If she knows I have that fantasy… _he gulped at the implications.

Po finally sucked in a large amount of air, exhaled, and braced himself for whatever it was she had planned for him. He pushed the doors open, and saw the master of the Tiger style standing patiently in the middle of the courtyard. Next to her feet was a medium sized bag with what looked like a ball inside it. Tigress was wearing a thicker, long sleeve version of the scarlet colored vest she usually wore, with a white scarf wrapped around her neck.

Not entirely what he was expecting, but still…

The panda shut the large door and walked slowly towards Tigress until he was about five feet from her. Wringing his paws nervously, he finally asked, "You wanted to see me Master Tigress?"

"Yes, I did Dragon Warrior." The feline replied with a neutral tone; "Before we get into why we're out here, however, I think it's time I clear something up with you."

Po gulped. _Here it comes…_

Tigress then continued, "Several weeks ago, I've overheard your conversation with Crane. You know, about why I've been seemingly hostile towards you." This caught Po's attention, yet she didn't stop; "Which naturally meant I also heard what you said. How you would never intentionally steal someone's love. How you already have a father living down in the village."

She sighed, then spoke, "I've since then been thinking about how I should deal with my… relationship with Master Shifu, as well as how to make it up to you."

After another short pause, Po finally let out a sigh of relief; and then replied.

"Oh good… I'm sorry, it's just that I though you were going to yell at me or something. I mean, it's been five months since I first arrived here…"

"Six." Tigress corrected.

Po thought about the time he's spent at the Jade Palace before continuing with a self made compromise; "…Yeah, five or six months… and uh, I was starting to think that you were just going to leave me alone forever or something like that." He then asked, "What about you and Master Shifu though?"

"I won't go into details, but all I ask from you Dragon Warrior is to please stay out of it. It's my issue, I'll deal with it." Tigress added, then added on, "It's not a trust issue, it's just very personal to me. But for what it's worth, I appreciate your concern."

Po gave a small smile. "So… you and I are friends now?"

The feline answered, "I wouldn't go that far." A moment later, "But… maybe sometime if certain conditions are met… we'll see."

The bear and tiger shared yet another awkward silence before Po changed the subject. "So, what's in the bag?" The tiger master then bent down, untied the straps of the bag, and pulled out a small toy ball.

"So glad you asked, this is part of what I wanted to teach you today. Look over there, near the eastern wall." She pointed towards the wall and Po's eyes followed suit. There, he saw a hoop attached to a pole, both made out of bamboo by the looks of it, on the top of the wall.

Tigress then explained what she had in mind; "What I'm going to show you is a test of accuracy. It's very simple: I'm going to hold the ball to the ground, and I want you to kick the ball through the hoop."

Po glanced back at her with a slightly quizzical look on his features. "…That's it?"

Tigress responded, "That's it."

Yet the panda kept asking, "No creative hook, or twist, or anything like that?"

The tiger shook her head, knelt down, and held the ball down on the ground. "Doesn't look like it to me. Now get some distance, then run at the ball and kick it as hard as you can. Remember: aim for the goal."

After a few more moments of pondering this, Po finally nodded and started to get some kicking distance. As he did so, he couldn't help but feel a little bit disappointed. He was _really _betting on some tips on how to deliver the perfect roundhouse kick, or maybe how to draw up enough strength to deliver a solid punch without losing any energy in the process.

The panda thought to himself as he stopped and turned to face the feline master, _Not quite what I was expecting, but we all gotta start somewhere don't we? I mean, this is MASTER TIGRESS we're talking about buddy; she wouldn't do something like this without a good reason. _Swallowing whatever uncertainty he had in him, he bore a determined and eager look and began his run at the ball.

_I'm not only gonna give this ball the most awesome kick it'll ever remember, not only will this ball go through the ring; it's gonna go over the Great Wall!_

Twenty feet away, from the ball he was still running.

Fifteen feet away, he began to build up strength in his right leg.

Ten feet away, he visualized where his foot was going to go on the ball.

Five feet away, he braced himself for contact.

One foot away, Tigress smirked…

…and pulled the ball away at the last second.

**"AUUUUGHH!****" **

Po screamed as he flew several feet up and away from Tigress before landing on his back with a loud _thud._ He was dazed for several very long seconds. For that time he just lay there, staring up at the clear blue sky, seeing stars. Then something orange with black stripes and a self satisfied smirk entered his view.

The tiger shook her head lightly and said, "And that, Dragon Warrior, was your first _real _lesson from me: Always expect the unexpected." She then rhetorically asked, "When was the last time you ever heard anything about kicking a ball helping someone in kung fu?"

All the dazed bear could do was remain silent and slowly sit up. Tigress then padded his shoulder and then placed the ball back in it's bag. As she turned to leave she spoke to him again.

"Meet me here right after the morning gong tomorrow morning. We've got a lot of ground to cover." And with that, she left out of the training arena doors.

Po stared after her for a while, then covered his face with his paw.

"Good grief."

**A/N: And there you have it folks. My small tribute to one of my all time favorite comic strips. I can honestly see Po as Charlie Brown and Tigress as Lucy. XD**

**Also, I hope you caught the Mr. and Mrs. Smith reference I threw in. **

**Read and Review. And again, I'm so sorry it took this long!**


End file.
